When connecting an optical fiber composed of a glass fiber and a coating to another optical fiber, it is known to strip a prescribed length of the coating of the terminus in order to expose the glass fiber. The operation of stripping the coating is carried out using a mechanical stripper, for example (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application 60-79306).
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional stripper 100. The stripper 100 is composed of an upper member 101 and a lower member 102 that are pivoted at one edge. Clamps 105, 106 are respectively disposed within core guide portions 103, 104 which are provided to the upper member 101 and the lower member 102. A pair of core guide claws 107, 107 are disposed on the lower member 102, and slots (not shown in the drawing) that mate with the core guide claws 107 are provided in the upper member 101. Blades 108, 109 situated in opposition to one another are disposed on the upper member 101 and the lower member 102.
When the stopper 100 is used to strip the coating from an optical fiber, the optical fiber is guided by the core guide claws 107 and positioned at the location of the clamps 105, 106. In this state, the upper member 101 and the lower member 102 are urged into relative proximity with one another, whereby the blades 108, 109 slice into the coating that is to be stripped from the optical fiber, producing a cut. The coating is then stripped by moving the stripper 100 relative to the optical fiber.
According to this method, the coating is stripped by pressing the blades 108, 109 against the coating of the optical fiber, followed by relative motion of the stripper 100 towards the end of the optical fiber. For this reason, coating residue may be left adhering to the end of the optical fiber. Because cutting cannot be carried out in consistent fashion with coating residue adhering to the end of the optical fiber, it was necessary to either cut off the end or clean it with alcohol or the like, resulting in a complicated procedure.    Patent Citation 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application 60-79306